Zutara week 09
by mindmeld1650
Summary: Well here is my first time working with Zutara week! But I will say, I think I have good stuff here, so give this a read, if you like it review and tell others if you can and have them check it out! So read and enjoy the amazing ZUTARA!
1. Chapter 1

Zutara Week '09

Alright! For the first time ever I'm stepping off of the taang turf (only temporarily) and giving full on Zutara a good shot! Now I warn you, I'm not the best when it comes to Zutara, but I'll do the best I can. Also I'm actually starting this on the third day, so I'm going to submit the first three days (Crossover, Blood, and Jealousy) all in one day (which today is Jealousy) then I will continue on. Also I worked very quickly on this, so apologies for any missed spelling or grammatcial mistakes in advance! So without further ado… let's begin!

Day one: Crossover

Katara sat in her New York apartment. It was a small place, just somewhere she could finally be on her own for college. She was pursuing her degree in biology for acceptance into medical school where she would become a family doctor. It was early in the morning and class didn't start until the afternoon.

So she just sat watching T.V. for any interesting news that may be on or watch an episode of the House marathon. As she flipped channels though, something interesting caught her eye on CNN: "This just in… It seems a bank robbery was foiled by the mysterious Blue Spirit! This blue masked vigilante swooped in just at the nick of time when the robbers had strapped all those in the first national bank in the safe depository with a bomb!

"But luckily, New York's very own hero came to save the day once more, brandishing his trademark Dao Swords! After miraculously stopped the robbers, without getting hurt or hurting them, he opened the depository door and recued all the civilians and defused the bomb!" She news anchor continued with the rest of the report continuing to praise the miraculous feats the Blue Spirit had performed.

Katara smiled, it was about time that people started to step up as heroes to help those who needed it. The Blue spirit once helped an old man, Zuko's uncle, as a matter of fact, from the dastardly Admiral Joy who was a psychopathic mad bomber. Even the old and powerful Sensei Iroh couldn't stand a chance against the Admiral's crazy feats. If it wasn't for the Blue Spirit; Iroh and half of New York City would be gone.

But stopping evil arch nemeses and stopping bank robberies weren't the only things the vigilante did. He helped the police all the time. It was said that police commissioner Hakoda (Katara's father actually) had received a lot of help on cases and other problems the police had. And her brother Sokka, a P.I. had received help on some of his toughest cases like the Adventure of the Red Ruby (that's another story Aang would have to tell you).

And occasionally you could see him jump across the rooftops and help in smallest of petty crimes like retrieving a purse or wallet or maybe a briefcase. He was around to stop muggings, and if he couldn't stop it he vigilante wouldn't rest until the muggers were found and brought to justice. And if that wasn't enough, he would even be seen helping a child find his lost balloon.

He was the most admirable of heroes she had seen. And in some cases the sexiest, but what girl couldn't resist the mysteries of who hid behind that mask, and what kind of body could he have being a martial arts expert, sword master, and acrobatic. It was just one of her many nightly fantasies.

She was brought out of her daze by a knock at her door. She walked over and opened it to reveal Zuko who smiled politely and tapped his watch, "You might want to get ready for class you know… don't want to be late." Katara almost blushed and ran to get her purse and school bag. She followed Zuko down to his parked Mercedes, just one of the many cars a rich boy like him had.

Even though he was rich, he was also polite, friendly (even wit his quick temper), a bit dorky (he could be unusually smart at times), aloof, and many other odd characteristics for a rich boy. Along with his long jet black hair and stunningly attractive burn scar that took up some of the left side of his face, he was on hell of a boy toy for girls.

Katara had the pleasure of getting know him at a café when Zuko had left his keys and wallet at his table. He got up in such a rush he must have forgotten them and ran off for no apparent reason. She was able to find his house and return his belongings. He was so grateful he took her out to what was probably the fanciest dinner she had ever had. They had become good friends and he had agreed to take her to her classes with her lack of funds for a car of her own.

"Did you hear about the Blue Spirit's latest success?" Katara asked.

"You seem to talk about him all the time… I don't think I even need to watch the news anymore to hear about him, I should just go to you." He returned jokingly.

"Ha, real funny. He happened to stop a bank robbery and save everyone inside of it from a massive bomb for you information." she replied knowingly.

"Something tells me you want him to save you like some prince charming, am I right?" he asked his passenger.

"Well excuse me for asking!" she yelled jokingly.

"I think somebody's in_ looove!_" he replied mockingly.

They laughed and there was a moment of silence when Katara asked, "How's Toph been?" Toph was Zuko's adopted sister. Her own father had disbanded her as a member of his family. So Zuko took her in and it turned out she must have been a natural born martial artist. In fact she was one of the few people who could fight completely blindfolded, which helped since her eyesight was lacking enough already.

"She's fine. She can be a bit obnoxious, but the best sister I've had. She's a sister to me like Uncle is my father." Zuko replied. Both his original sister and father might as well have been psychopaths like the Admiral Joy. It was Zuko's own father who had given him that burn scar and his sister had nearly killed Zuko with a .357 magnum that she had unknowingly got her hands on. It was a sad story, but thanks to Sokka and Aang they had helped so long ago with Ozai and Zuko had stopped Azula himself without getting hurt too bad at all.

After a few more minutes, he dropped Katara off at her classes and drove off, promising to meet her promptly when classes were over. He took the back roads that he knew so well, but had refused to let Katara know about, or it would reveal his secret identity.

He returned home and when he did he saw Toph sitting at the kitchen island, "About time you showed up." She said, taking a bite out an apple "That police radio just picked up what seems to be a hostage crisis at the New York Times publishing building."

"Why didn't you page me?" he asked furiously, running up to his room, Toph close at his heels. "You know I don't use the mobile police radio when I drive Katara to her college classes!"

"Did ya ask her out yet, by the way?" Toph decided to ask.

"I don't think this is the right time to ask that!" he said, pulling the Blue Spirit clothes from behind his closet.

"You chickened out, didn't you?" she stated rather than asked.

"We'll talk when I get back." Zuko said to her, putting his mask on and strapping his dual Dao Swords on his back.

He jumped out his window and began traversing the many rooftops of New York. As he ran and jumped he heard Toph say over the communicator, "Seriously, why didn't you ask her out?"

"How about seriously be quiet now! You know to use the communicator only for when there is an emergency."

"This is an emergency! You seriously need a love life! If you don't you're going to get yourself killed!"

"If I think about Katara I will get myself killed!" he retorted angrily, "Now be quiet, I'm almost at the office." It wasn't hard to notice the many S.W.A.T team cars and police cars surrounding the building where every room was dark. The used spot lights to see any of the hostages or anyone inside the building at all, but it was as if the offices were completely empty.

Zuko ran carefully and stealthy and made his way to a higher building farther away. He looked down upon the publishing building and judged the distance carefully. He walked to the other side of the roof and prepared to sprint. He took off and propelled himself off the ledge and dived to the building below. His dark clothes made him nearly invisible in the dark of night.

When he made a perfect landing, he ct a hole into the air ducts and started moving through the ventilation system to find where everyone was. It actually didn't take him long. It turns out there was a small group of gunmen on each floor guarding a small amount of office workers. The power was obviously cut off and the gunmen were using night vision goggles to see. Zuko knew exactly what to do once he saw the night vision goggles.

He made his way to the basement and knocked out the guards near the power box. He searched carefully for the lights and activated them and made a brake for the floor above. When the lights went on he could hear the multiple shouts of panic, surprise, and to his pleasure, pain. The increase of light overloaded the night vision goggles, since they work only in small amounts of light. Too much and it nearly blinds the user.

He agilely knocked out the gunmen he came across and disarmed their weapons before moving to the next floor and repeating it again. He worked his way swiftly to the top floor where he was easily able to tell the leader of the operation, and all he had to do was draw his swords and the leader dropped his weapons and raised his arms in surrender along with the rest of the men on the room. Zuko knocked each one out with a simple strike with the hilts of his swords.

He exited the building just as the S.W.A.T teams moved in to capture the assailants and save the hostages. Everyone knew it was the Blue Spirit was behind the rescue, but he was no where to be found. Instead Zuko was already rushing back to his house, "I need to get to my car and get Katara!" he shouted in his communicator.

"I'll get the car ready." Toph said with boredom.

As Zuko sprinted across rooftops, he heard an eerily familiar scream, "Katara!" he shouted. He looked down one alley where he saw Katara and three men surrounding her.

"I get to have fun with her first!" one yelled maliciously.

"Lets just take her money and kill her." Another suggested.

"Or rob her, have fun with her, _then_ kill her!" the last suggested. The other two laughed in agreement. They started to close in on her, when Zuko swooped in and knocked the three muggers down with little difficulty.

Katara watched in amazement through her sobs of terror. Zuko was about to leave when it started to rain heavily and Katara held up a hand, "Wait!" she yelled.

He turned to look at her. She walked up to him and smiled weakly, "Thank you."

He turned again and she took his hand and pulled him close to her, she lifted his mask slightly and kissed him and returned his mask to the proper position. Zuko then turned and left as Katara walked home feeling much safer now that the Blue Spirit was watching over her too.

"She kissed me!" Zuko explained to Toph, who reclined on his bed, listening to her music.

"Uh –huh." She said absent mindedly.

"She smelled so beautiful, and the kiss was great! I've never been happier to save some one who was about to be mugged!"

"But you haven't asked her out yet, have you?"

"You ruin everything for me, don't you?" he asked morosely.

She smiled and got up and stood on her toes to kiss Zuko's cheek, "Good night, big brother." She said politely before leaving.

The next day Zuko went to Katara's earlier than usual. This time instead of saying hello when she opened the door he took her in his arms and kissed her. When they parted he said, "Would you mind going on a date with me tonight?"

She smiled, "I'd love to."

He smiled back and left to his car where Toph was sitting in the passenger seat, "She said yes, didn't she?"

"Yeah… she did." He said happily.

Toph socked him in the arm and yelled, "Why don't you ever listen to me in the first place then… Now come on, uncle has some lessons for us, let's go! Oh yeah and there's a robbery on fifth street."

Zuko looked at her angrily and drove off quickly.

Katara watched them drive away and she said quietly, "go get 'em, tiger"

A/N- Obviously this is a crossover of Avatar and spider man or the Dark night. I'm fairly sure you might be able to work out the other crossovers… Day two is also here with day three (today). Hope you enjoyed and leave a review! Remember this is my first full Zutara thing!


	2. day two: Blood

Day two: Blood

Zuko was practicing fire bending with Aang. He was drilling him harder than usual. Zuko wanted to let Aang rest, but the young prince knew that the Fire lord wouldn't let Aang rest.

At the end of every form, Zuko would point out the problems and would drill Aang to do it again, and to young Avatar would obey, with patience. _Thank spirits for Toph_. Zuko thought to himself, knowing how Toph had to teach Aang patience in training.

It was a long training session until, to Zuko's dismay; Aang fell to the ground out of exhaustion. He had an open cut and Zuko helped the kid up, "Ah! That hurts!" Aang said, looking at the bleeding wound on his arm. Zuko brought him to Katara.

"What happened?" she asked, knowing Aang usually didn't come back from training injured too badly, well with the exception of Toph's training, but that was a different story.

"I guess I trained him too hard…" Zuko left off.

Katara looked at him a little angrily before healing the cut.

"Thanks Katara!" Aang said happily.

"Aang, by the way, Toph was looking for you, she wanted to ask you some stuff about the temple." Katara said to him.

"All right." He turned to Zuko, "Thanks for the training, Sifu Hot man." He said sarcastically.

"I suppose I deserve that." He said remorsefully, "Just remember, blood is just red sweat."

Aang shrugged, "You're the teacher I guess." He ran off to find Toph.

Zuko decided he might as well practice with his swords when Katara interrupted him. "Hey, can we talk for a while."

He nodded, "Sure."

They walked the temple together and she said, "I know I'm not being extremely nice to you, and I don't think I ever will be, but I just want to apologize. I didn't mean that, uh…"

"Death threat.' Zuko finished.

"Yeah, that." She apologized.

He patted her shoulder, "its okay."

"I didn't say it was okay to touch me." She looked at him a little irate.

"Sorry, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"Not really. Just wanted to apologize a little."

She turned to leave when he said, "Uh, wait, can you just come with me somewhere real quickly. I have something I wanted to give you."

"Sure, I guess. What is it?"

"Come with me." She followed him to a rose garden not too far away from where they were.

"This place is beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I found it years ago when…" he drifted off, "Well anyway I'm happy to still see its here, because it was perfect atmosphere for this…" He pulled a necklace from his pocket. It was very similar to Katara's betrothal necklace, except the carving was a fire nation symbol on one side and a water tribe symbol on the other.

"What is it?" she asked him, taking into her hands.

"It's an old custom that's been long outdated, but I wanted to make it for you anyway. It's a fire nation friendship necklace. It's a small thing for Fire nation people to give other people from other nations a symbol of ever lasting friendship. I know you don't consider me as much of a friend, but I still want you to have it." He explained.

She looked from the necklace to him and felt her heart cringe a little for the way she'd been treating him. "Thank you, Zuko. This is very sweet." She put it on and gave him a swift kiss before accidentally getting pricked by a thorn.

"Oh here, let me…" He offered to help, taking her hand, but she healed it quickly.

"Its fine." she said with a small smile. "After all blood is just…" she caught the way he looked at her eyes and felt the warmth of his hands.

"Red sweat." He said quietly before kissing her.

A/N- I have to say, this was one of the tougher prompts, but I came through! Sorry its shorter than day one, I had less to work with. I probably could have had better stuff, but I had to finish this (and day three which I think is way better) in thirty minutes so I could publish it and go to bed.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention: I don't own Avatar, Spider Man, The Dark Knight (or any batman related stuff), Sherlock Holmes (Read day one a little more carefully if you can't figure it out). Guess that's it, move on to day three now! (and review!)


	3. day three: jealousy

Day Three: Jealousy

_You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset_

_She's going off about something that you said_

_'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do_

"Mai! Come on, it's just a joke!" Zuko said over his cell phone, pacing around his room.

"Then tell me the truth, not some damn joke, Zuko!" his girl friend yelled angrily at him.

"You're much more beautiful and appealing than Katara could ever be." Zuko said almost monotone.

"I guess that's better, maybe you'll make it up to me tomorrow when to come over." Mai said, with a somewhat happier tone.

"Well actually…" Zuko tried to reply.

"What!?" She asked angrily.

"Never mind, it's nothing." He hung up. He was supposed to spend the day with Katara and work on the chemistry notes he had missed when he was sick. He looked out the window to see Katara looking sadly at him, she held up a sign, "You okay?" it read.

"Tired of all the drama." He wrote back.

"Sorry." She wrote back on her paper.

Zuko gave a shrug and frowned a little.

Katara began scribbling furiously on her pad, "I love you." It read, but when she looked up, Zuko's blinds were closed.

_I'm in the room; it's a typical Tuesday night_

_I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like_

_And she'll never know your story like I do_

_But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts_

_She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers_

_Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_

_That what you're looking for has been here the whole time  
_

_If you could see that I'm the one who understands you_

_Been here all along, so why can't you see?_

_You, you belong with me, you belong with me_

Katara cranked up you belong with me on her iPod and began singing to it in front of her mirror and dancing around with a hair brush in hand as if it were her microphone. Zuko opened his blinds a little and peeked out to see Katara dancing and couldn't help but to smile and laugh at his friend actually, his _best_ friend.

_Walking the streets with you and your worn-out jeans_

_I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be_

_Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself_

_Hey, isn't this easy?_

Katara sat on a park bench and Zuko came along, a small grin on his face, obviously happy to see her. Mai was late which must've meant she wasn't able to pick Zuko up which meant he had the rest of the day with Katara. "Hey Katara!" he said happily.

"Hey, Zu-Zu." She said smiling at him and his mock nickname.

Truth be told, he hated that name and only allowed Katara to call him that. He smiled too. He began to talk to her about school and how Coach Kyoshi definitely could not be a woman at all. They kept laughing and talking when Zuko said, "Oh yeah, about those chemistry notes, I think I can…" he was about to finish with a big smile until he heard Mai's car horn.

_And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town_

_I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down_

_You say you're fine, I know you better than that_

_Hey, what ya doing with a girl like that?_

_She wears high heels, I wear sneakers_

_She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers_

_Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_

_That what you're looking for has been here the whole time_

_If you could see that I'm the one who understands you_

_Been here all along, so why can't you see?_

_You belong with me_

_Standing by and waiting at your back door_

_All this time how could you not know?_

_Baby, you belong with me, you belong with me_

"Come on Zuko!" Mai said to him with a big fake grin. Zuko reluctantly got in the car and was immediately kissed by Mai, "This is a taste of what you'll get to do with me tonight…" she said seductively looking at Katara with disgust. They drove off and Katara was left alone once again.

But who was she kidding, as annoying, obnoxious, stupid, and well downright snobbish Mai was, she was perfect. She was cheer captain, wore the best designer clothes, had lots of money, and was the best 'prize' any guy could get and she completely acted like a prize to be won by the highest bidder.

All Katara loved to do was watch Zuko play his football games and she cheered solely for him and was so happy to see him ecstatic when he won a game. But she watched disappointingly as Zuko ran to see Mai who just yelled at him for probably not thanking her for cheering for him.

_Oh, I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night_

_I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry_

_And I know your favorite songs and you tell me 'bout your dreams_

_Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me_

Katara sat in her room, working on a complex equation when she saw Zuko, dressed in most of his suit for the dance, write, "You going tonight?"

She wrote back, "No, studying."

"Wish you were." He wrote back, half smiling.

He walked off and Katara peeked at the "I love you note" and had a determined look on her face and got in her dress that Sokka had bought for her, wanted her to go really badly and wanting to see his sister happy.

She arrived at the dance and looked around the crowd of people.

_Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?_

_Been here all along, so why can't you see?_

_You belong with me_

Zuko looked to see Katara standing in her dazzling white dress and smiled happily. He weaved through some of the dancing people to get to her.

_Standing by and waiting at your back door_

_All this time, how could you not know?_

_Baby, you belong with me, you belong with me_

Mai saw him and grabbed his shirt, "get over here, Zuko!"

"No, I don't care about you anymore, and I don't think I ever did!" he replied, pushing away from Mai and walking to Katara who smiled at him.

_You belong with me_

Katara held up her "I love you" note to Zuko.

_Have you ever thought just maybe  
you belong with me?_

Zuko held up his note, "I love you too." He hugged her and kissed her, and was happier than he had ever been.

_You belong with me_

A/N- The song is obviously by Taylor Swift "You belong with me" which is personally one of my favorites and I thought it went perfectly. I don't own the song or avatar. Also as you might note the story followed much along the same events as the music video, which is what I was trying to do since when I saw it I pitured the two of them in it. So That's all for now, review and get ready for tomorrow's prompt which I believe is Cactus Juice!


	4. Day four: cactus juice

Day four: cactus Juice

It was a girls night out. Katara, Suki, and Toph all had the day to themselves. It was a few days before the team had to split once more in order to take care of their respective duties. Zuko would go with Katara to the Fire Nation, Aang and Toph would stay in Ba Sing Se and Sokka and Suki would to the south pole. So to celebrate their last night in Ba Sing Se (with the exception of Toph) they went to one of the cities greatest restaurants and clubs.

When they arrived the music was already blasting with tunes that had everyone's foot tapping and the aroma of delectable foods wafted to the girls noses. It was definitely a greta night for them… at least until Toph ordered a round of some cactus juice. She downed her shot with ease and Suki followed and last was Katara who was reluctant to down hers.

It was obviously one of the easiest drinks to get a little drunk off of. Well a _little_ might actually be an exaggeration. Sfter a few more shots, Toph was already standing on the table singing to songs she knew and challenging anyone that came up to her to a drinking contest or and earth bending tournament. Suki was walking around flirting with different guys, touching them, and caressing them… she easily statreed to become the center of attention. Katara was probably hallucintating off of her drinks. The rooms lights seem to glow brighter and dimmer every few seconds and they also seemd to change color. She eventually began to talk nonsense the entire time.

Luckily it wasn't long before the three guys arrived to save the girls from any more ambarrasment. Sokka found Suki attempting to strip on a table and brought her down and began to drag her away, despite the jeers from the men, "Hey handsome!" Suki said to Sokka with a giggle. "I bet'cha I can give you the best time of your life!"

Sokka raised an eyebrow, "Really now… hmm, lets see about that!" he dragged her off while Aang attempted to stop Toph from trying to kill an innocent man she was claiming to have called her a 'Baby wimp'.

"Come on Toph… we should get back to our apartment. This guy can't possibly be worth the aggravation." He said to her.

"Your right, er, whats your name again? Oh yeah Aang! Hey by the way… how many arrows do you have?" she said, her wors slurring ever so slightly.

"Well five in total, one on my head, two on my hands, and two on my feet." He answered, calmly, knowing it must've been deleruium from the cactus juice.

"No, you have six silly! And I want to see it!" she said to him lioudly and laughing just as loud.

"Six, that makes no sense." He stated.

"Yeah it does, one on your head, two on your hands , two on your feet and one on your..." the last word nearly made Aang scream like a girl.

"Are you crazy?" he asked, now dragging her off, trying to erase what she had just said in his mind.

Zuko found Katara now singing songs that had no sense what- so- ever. "Katara, I'm going to bring you back to our apartment too." He said gently.

"Hey strange scar man… how are you?" she asked, dazed.

"Lets get you home." He said picking her up and carrying her out and back to the apartment they ahared with Sokka dna Suki while Aang and Toph took the house next to theirs.

As he walked with Katara in his arms she smiled at him, "You're really cute! Take your shirt off and let me see what heat your packing!" that was enough to make Zuko blush and he was happy that is was just the cactus juice talking.

She continued to hit on him with more embarrassing sayings some of which had to more to do with areas that were a little more private than he would like.

When he finally got her home he already knew Sokka was probably still out with Suki, so he decided it was best to stay with Katara in her room. He brought her in and laid her on the bed and tucked her in. "Oh… aren't you going to cuddle with me snuggly prince?" she asked him sadly.

"I don't think so." He said to her, sitting on a nearby chair.

"But I _really_ want to snuggle!" she protested.

He knew there was no point in arguing so he removed his shirt and laid down hext to her.

"Hooray! My dashing prince is here!" ashe said, nuzzling next to him.

He had to allow one smile. He looked at Katara, who was still mumbling thanks to her cactus juice spree. He really enjoyed the perfume scent of her hair, and the feeling of her smooth skin agaist his own skin. He could feel his heart beat faster as he gently cupped Katara's face and kissed her. Obvioudly it didn't take long for their kiss to become passionate. Zuko began to make proclamations of love to Katara bwtween kisses and he ran his fingers across her velvety skin. Katara's moans echoed in the room while she felt his many rippling musles. It was certainly a night to remember.

When Katara woke up in the morning she felt rather happy with the feeling of Zuko's warm bare skin beneath her own. She could feel the steady and pealeasnt smell of his breath as she was still sleeping. She was very proud of herself and her good good acting skills. In fact she hadn't drunk a single sip of cactus juice…

A/n- ha, I hoped you liked the twist to my ending there. Tell me what you thought! I really want some reviews! Sorry this came in later than I expected but I hope it was wirt hthe read. Apologies for the shortness here also, but I had to be quick again. The next three days should be a tad easier for me to write.


	5. day five: firelflies

Day five: Fireflies

It was night time in the Fire Nation. The entire team was staying at the Royal Palace due to a small world summit. After six years of peace, it was time for another global meeting to settle more things such as trading routes, crime rates, military settings, and more. It was up to Zuko to make sure everything ran smoothly seeing as though his nation was hosting the summit and of course his nation was the reason for the years of meetings and summits.

Luckily this day was nearly over and Zuko had the night to himself. For the time being he didn't care much at all where the rest of the team was. They were most likely already getting ready for bed after the long day. Except he was partially wrong about that, Katara walked up to him and strode along the gardens with him, "What are you doing out here so late?" she asked him.

"I should probably be asking you the same question." He replied.

"I'm up because I want to enjoy the fresh night air, even though it is fairly hot out here." She retorted.

"Well it is the fire nation after all." He said to her with a 'matter of fact' tone.

"I think I know that Zu-Zu." She replied jokingly. Although he hated that nickname his sister used to call him, he really enjoyed Katara use the name. She was the only person he ever allowed to call him by a nickname, especially that one. He felt it was 'their thing.' Katara had been living with Zuko at the royal palace for nearly six years and over that time they always grew increasingly close to each other.

But recently Zuko started to become very attracted to Katara. There was something about her he always liked. Even during the days that he was hunting down Aang, his encounters with her were always one thing he almost enjoyed. Perhaps it was her blue eyes that sparkled in the most beautiful ways in the moon or Sun. It could have been the very way she moves and carries herself in such a graceful manner that she seems almost like stunningly gorgeous spirit. There was also her hair that was fine as silk and smelled of the most intoxicating blends of perfumes and shampoos and her skin that was so scintillatingly velvety smooth. In short everything about Katara was amazing.

Although, there was nothing more amazing than her caring nature to love and protect, like when she healed his wound from Azula. He could feel every ounce of love and care in that small amount of healing. He had never felt more intimately connected with her than at that time and throughout this entire time, he realized that he was falling for the water tribe girl he had become such good friends with.

As they paused to sit on a bench, Katara noticed the short, momentary flashes of fireflies in the garden, and she had realized something, "Zuko, in all my time here in the Fire Nation I have never seen many fireflies here before, but they're supposed to come out in very hot nights."

"Because of the war," he started, "The new mechanized Fire nation had damaged the ecosystem somewhat severely. So fireflies for nearly these last hundred years have been pretty rare to see here. Although, there always is legend that fireflies show up here on the nights when there is the most romance in the area. They're always a sign of two lovers meeting or two lovers that might have yet to know each other and will on these very nights."

"Really… so does that make us future lovers?" she asked, slipping her hand into his and intertwining when fingers with his.

He looked at her sparkling blue eyes, "Maybe it does." He said, kissing her lightly. He didn't feel the need to kiss her deeply, but he did feel the need to hold her close to him in a tight hug. After such a long time… he had found his true love.

Aang had his arm around Toph as they stood on a balcony over looking the garden and the scene between the new lovers. Toph's head rested against Aang's chest, "Good plan, huh?" she asked him.

"Yeah, capturing and releasing flies in the garden thanks to the story of the fireflies Iroh had told us… you are a genius." He said to his fiancé.

"You better get used to saying that, Twinkles." She said before kissing him, "Oh yeah, they might not be in the mood," she jabbed a thumb in the direction of Katara and Zuko who were still hugging, "But I sure am, I'll meet you in the bedroom." She walked off and Aang smiled broadly and followed after.

A/N- hoped you liked day five which was again late like day four (sigh) I guess I'm a little busier than I thought! No fear though, these chapters will be out! Anyway, I had to throw in that dash of taang there like I always do, you know how much Toph and Aang help out Zutara!


	6. unrelated

Midterm Study Guide

State Characteristics- Population, territory, sovereignty (supreme rule in its own territory) government (politically organized).

Govt purposes- (found in the constitution) _Form_ a more perfect union, _establish_ justice, _ensure_ Domestic tranquilly, _provide_ for the common defense, _promote_ the general welfare, and _secure_ the blessings of liberty.

Social contract theory- one of the 4 state origins (Force, evolutionary, Divine right, social contract)… in terms of America it is one of the most important. John Locke, James Harrington, Thomas Hobbes and Jacques Rousseau developed this: Human state of nature was bad w/o govt, thus they say humans created a state using a constitution. In short states were created out of the voluntary act of the people. State exists to serve the will of the people and they are the sole source of all political power and are free to do with the power what they want.

3 types of govt- unitary, federal, confederate… Unitary is a centralized govt where all powers belong to a central agency of some sort. They create local units of govt for their own convenience (Parliament), thus not always dictatorship. Federal: division between one central govt and several smaller local govts. Both act on the people's set of laws, officials, and agencies (U.S. govt). Confederacy: alliance of independent states (usually weak)

Democratic concepts- recognition of a the fundamental worth and dignity of every person, a respect for the equality of all persons, a faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights, an acceptance of the necessity of compromise, an insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom.

Declaration vocab- found on vocab sheet (you've seen the words before and more can be written on the back of the sheet).

Enlightenment thinkers- people like John Locke and the others mentioned somewhere above.

Will of the majority- theoretically it is sovereignty or popular sovereignty; govt can only function with the will of the people.

Federal govt system- written constitution divides the powers of govt on a territorial basis. Division between central and local govts with their own area of powers and neither acting alone can change the basic division of powers the constitution makes between them.

Compromise- the process of blending and adjusting, of reconciling competing views and interests- to find the position acceptable to the largest number.

Unitary govt- see above/

Govt powers- ?... Delegated that belongs to the national govt. Three types are expressed, implied, inherent. Reserved powers belong to the states but not the national govt.

Enabling act- directs the framing of a _proposed_ state constitution. Must be passed by congress.

Federal aids to states-… grants-in-aid grants 9f money to the states and/or their cities, counties, and other local units. Provide funds often needed to carry out basic functions… Block grants have fewer strings attached… Revenue has virtually no strings attached.

Full faith and credit clause- respect the validity of another state

Delegated powers- belong to nation govt in a federal system of govt.

Local govt powers and reserved and are the powers the national govt does not have.

Commerce power- the strength of trading for common good?

1780s political crisis- national trouble after the revolutionary war called for a stronger national govt and a stronger constitution.

Constitution authors- Known as the framers: George Washington, James Madison, Edmund Randolph, George Mason, Benjamin Franklin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, James Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, William Paterson, Elbridge Gerry, Rufus King, Luther Martin, Oliver Ellsworth, Roger Sherman, John Dickenson, John Rutledge, and Charles Prickney.

Declaration of independence- Beginning sentence/ Preamble- "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Declaration of rights: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable right, that among these are _life, liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness_" Grievances against king, and actual declaration of independence.

Articles of confederation- what essentially was the constitution version 1.0 and held together the thirteen colonies, but it was apiece of crap. Established a firm league of friendship among the states.

Philadelphia convention- where the idea to draft a new constitution took place/ where the Framers met.

Connecticut compromise- the conflicts of the Virginia plan (legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch/ Congress would be Bicameral/ Representation would be based upon state population and money they gave) and the New Jersey plan (unicameral Congress/ equal representation) Since the major problem between these two was representation this compromise said congress would be two houses and in the smaller senate states would be represented by equality and in the House each state would be based off population.

Federalist- favored ratification of Constitution.

Constitution: six basic principles- popular sovereignty (people are only source of political power), Limited Govt (govt is not all powerful it only does the things people want it to do, thus it follows constitutionalism [conducted by the constitution] and it is also known as rule of law… govt is never above the law), Separation of powers (obvious), Checks and balances (each of the three branches makes sure one doesn't become too powerful), Judicial Review (power to decide if the govt is following the rules), Federalism (split between national and local govts).

Bill of Rights- first ten amendments of the constitution… I- freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. II-freedom of bearing arms and serves in militia. III- no need to quarter soldiers. IV- protect against unreasonable searches and seizures. V- Rights to due process of law/ protect against self-incrimination. VI- rights of a person to be represented by a lawyer. VII- right to a trail by jury in civil cases that involve more than $20. VIII- unfair bail, and cruel and unusual fines and punishment are forbidden. IX- rights spelled out in the constitution are not the only rights of the American people. X- Those powers not given to the federal govt are reserved for the states of the people.

Informal amendment- process by which changes to the constitution have been made, but not written down.

Amendment – changes in written word

Bicameralism- two house legislature

Treaties- agreements between nations

1 person, 1 vote- each person has one vote to cast for their own/ equal representation

Loose/ Strict constitutionalists- you learned this way back when…

Constitution articles- LEJRASR… I- Legislative, II- Executive, III- Judicial, IV Relations among the states, V- Amending the constitution, VI Ensure national supremacy, VII- ratification.

Ratification- to formally agree

Anti-Federalists- opposed constitutional ratification.

Boycott- to politically not do/ buy/ partake in something

Unicameral- one house legislature

Executive agreement- pact made between the president and the head of a foreign state that doesn't need to be approved by Senate, it is as legally binding as a treaty. Normally used to avoid the cumbersome treaty making process.

Formal amendment- actual changes are made to the Constitutional document.

Expressed powers- those powers defined directly, word from word in the constitution 927 powers are directly express).

Implied powers- not directly expressed, but implied from those that are expressed "Necessary and proper clause" building of dams, highways, defining of illegal crimes like gambling, smuggling, kidnapping, discriminations, etc.

Inherent powers- powers that belong to the national govt because it is the national govt, regulate immigration, deport aliens.

Cabinet- the head advisors for the president that he gets to choose

Political efficacy- effectiveness of a vote

Political socialization- the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions.

Straight/ split ticket voting- vote for one party or both respectively.

Public opinion- attitude held by a significant number of people on matters of govt and politics. Based off of family, School, opinion leaders, mass media.

Constitution preamble- We the people of the untied states in order to forma more perfect union establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.


	7. unrelated, part 2

State Characteristics- Population, territory, sovereignty, government.

Govt purposes- (found in the constitution) _Form_ a more perfect union, _establish_ justice, _ensure_ Domestic tranquilly, _provide_ for the common defense, _promote_ the general welfare, and _secure_ the blessings of liberty.

Social contract theory- one of the 4 state origins (Force, evolutionary, Divine right, social contract)… in terms of America it is one of the most important. John Locke, James Harrington, Thomas Hobbes and Jacques Rousseau developed this: Human state of nature was bad w/o govt, thus they say humans created a state using a constitution. In short states were created out of the voluntary act of the people. State exists to serve the will of the people and they are the sole source of all political power and are free to do with the power what they want.

3 types of govt- unitary, federal, confederate… Unitary is a centralized govt where all powers belong to a central agency of some sort. They create local units of govt for their own convenience (Parliament), thus not always dictatorship. Federal: division between one central govt and several smaller local govts. Both act on the people's set of laws, officials, and agencies (U.S. govt). Confederacy: alliance of independent states (usually weak)

Enlightenment thinkers- people like John Locke and the others mentioned somewhere above.

Will of the majority- theoretically it is sovereignty or popular sovereignty; govt can only function with the will of the people.

Federal govt system- written constitution divides the powers of govt on a territorial basis. Division between central and local govts with their own area of powers and neither acting alone can change the basic division of powers the constitution makes between them.

Compromise- the process of blending and adjusting, of reconciling competing views and interests- to find the position acceptable to the largest number.

Govt powers- ?... Delegated that belongs to the national govt. Three types are expressed, implied, inherent. Reserved powers belong to the states but not the national govt.

Federal aids to states-… grants-in-aid grants 9f money to the states and/or their cities, counties, and other local units. Provide funds often needed to carry out basic functions… Block grants have fewer strings attached… Revenue has virtually no strings attached.

Full faith and credit clause- respect the validity of another state

Local govt powers and reserved and are the powers the national govt does not have.

Commerce power- regulate interstate and foreign trade

Declaration of independence- Beginning sentence/ Preamble- "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Declaration of rights: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable right, that among these are _life, liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness_" Grievances against king, and actual declaration of independence.

Articles of confederation- what essentially was the constitution version 1.0 and held together the thirteen colonies, but it was apiece of crap. Established a firm league of friendship among the states.

Connecticut compromise- the conflicts of the Virginia plan (legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch/ Congress would be Bicameral/ Representation would be based upon state population and money they gave) and the New Jersey plan (unicameral Congress/ equal representation) Since the major problem between these two was representation this compromise said congress would be two houses and in the smaller senate states would be represented by equality and in the House each state would be based off population.

Federalist- favored ratification of Constitution.

Bill of Rights- first ten amendments of the constitution… I- freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. II-freedom of bearing arms and serves in militia. III- no need to quarter soldiers. IV- protect against unreasonable searches and seizures. V- Rights to due process of law/ protect against self-incrimination. VI- rights of a person to be represented by a lawyer. VII- right to a trail by jury in civil cases that involve more than $20. VIII- unfair bail, and cruel and unusual fines and punishment are forbidden. IX- rights spelled out in the constitution are not the only rights of the American people. X- Those powers not given to the federal govt are reserved for the states of the people.

Informal amendment- process by which changes to the constitution have been made, but not written down.

Amendment – changes in written word

Bicameralism- two house legislature

Treaties- agreements between nations

Loose/ Strict constructionists- interpreted the constitution in very literal matters, or decided it was up to interpretation.

Constitution articles- LEJRASR… I- Legislative, II- Executive, III- Judicial, IV Relations among the states, V- Amending the constitution, VI Ensure national supremacy, VII- ratification.

Ratification- to formally agree

Anti-Federalists- opposed constitutional ratification.

Unicameral- one house legislature

Executive agreement- pact made between the president and the head of a foreign state that doesn't need to be approved by Senate, it is as legally binding as a treaty. Normally used to avoid the cumbersome treaty making process.

Formal amendment- actual changes are made to the Constitutional document.

Expressed powers- those powers defined directly, word from word in the constitution 927 powers are directly express).

Implied powers- not directly expressed, but implied from those that are expressed "Necessary and proper clause" building of dams, highways, defining of illegal crimes like gambling, smuggling, kidnapping, discriminations, etc.

Inherent powers- powers that belong to the national govt because it is the national govt, regulate immigration, deport aliens.

Cabinet- the head advisors for the president that he gets to choose

Political efficacy- effectiveness of a vote

Indirect Tax- is one first paid by one person but then passed to another (i.e. cigarettes).

Copyright- the exclusive rights of an individual or an author to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her creative work.

Direct Tax- is one that must be paid by the person on whom it is imposed- i.e. a tax on ownership buildings.

Patent- grants a person the sole right to manufacture, use, or sell "any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof."

Impeach- the House has the sole power to do so and bring charges out to remove the President, VP, or any civil officer.

Necessary and Proper Clause- forms the provision that the implied powers flow. Gives Congress the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into the execution the forgoing powers, and all other powers vested by the constitution.

Amnesty- in effect, a general pardon offered to a group of law violators.

Commutation- power to commute (reduce) the length of a sentence or fine imposed by a court.

Executive order- is a directive, rule, or regulation that has the effect of a law.

Federal budget- amount of money the government allots to spend?

Pardon- legislative forgiveness of a crime

Proportional tax- tax proportional to those being levied?

Deficit- the yearly shortfall between income and outgo; and it has borrowed to make up the difference.

Gift tax- is one imposed on the making of a gift by a living person.

Payroll tax- money withheld from paychecks for things such as Medicare.

Regressive taxes- taxes levied at a flat rate, without regard to the level of a taxpayer's higher income or his or her ability to pay them.

Excise tax- laid on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of goods and/ or the performance of services.

Progressive tax- that is, the higher the income and the ability to pay, the higher the tax rate (individuals and corporations).

Public debt- is the government's outstanding indebtedness, all the money borrowed and not yet paid, plus the accrued interest.

Tax return- declarations that income and of the exemptions and deductions claimed.

Estate tax- is a levy imposed on the assets (the estate) of one who dies.

Democracy- supreme political authority rests with the people.

Federalism- the division of power among a central government and several regional governments.

Concurrent powers- are those that both the national government and the Senate possess and exercise (i.e. the power to lay and collect taxes, to define crimes and set punishments for them, and to condemn (take) private property for public use).

Supremacy Claus- defines the constitution the 'supreme law of the land."

Commerce clause- gives Congress power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce.

Checks and balances- each branch of government (legislative, judicial, executive) has the power to check and balance the other.

Separation of powers- separating the government into the three above branches

Qualifications of the House and Senate- House members: 25 years of age, citizen for 7 years, must be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she is chosen. Senate: 30 years of age, citizen for 9 years, must be inhabitant of state he or she wishes to represent.

Equity- fairness and equality

Simplicity- one of the necessities for and effective tax; simple to understand and impose.

Sales tax- tax placed on purchased items.

Income tax- largest amount of federal revenue, levied on each person's taxable income in the previous years minus certain exemptions and deductions.

Presidential powers- law- executing, law- enforcing, law- administering powers of the national government.

As you can see I have deleted several things from the original study guide (for obvious reasons to make sure it seems we have not cheated (though how to chest on a study guide, I have no clue), however the words from 37 onward are the newest ones on our study guide sheet and are synchronized with mine. I made sure to leave multiple important things on your version of the study guide and delete ones that were absolutely useless that only I would keep (thus it looks like you did the bare minimum, similar to your style of work, no offense). Also, I have changed the font of the words (at first glance it'll look like a whole other document). It would also be wise to delete this whole paragraph if you are to print this out. Hope it helps, good luck, God Speed.


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